John West Wilson

John West Wilson (8 October 1816 – 24 May 1889) was a businessman and arts patron.

[1] John West Wilson was born at Hull, United Kingdom.

He was the son of Thomas Wilson (1792–1869), founder of the shipping company Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. which introduced scheduled services between Hull, England and Gothenburg, Sweden in 1825 and ran steamers on the route between 1840 and 1842.

[2] John Wilson founded the firm JW Wilson at Gothenburg in 1844, operating it in conjunction with the existing family business to trade in corn, wood, paper, pulp and coal, while he also exported cattle there during the Crimean War.

[3] In 1850 John Wilson opened a regular steamship service between Gothenburg and Hull, which proved particularly effective in transporting emigrants from northern Europe to America.